Mosaab Mohamed Saeed Al-Odallah, a journalist working for the arts and culture section of the government newspaper Tishreen, was killed on Wednesday, August 22, 2012, by government soldiers after they entered his home in the southern Damascus district of Nahar Aisha, Reuters has reported, quoting opposition sources.

His death was a targeted reprisal for his supposed support for the opposition, according to afriend quoted by Agence France-Presse.

The raid on Al-Odallah’s home occurred during intensive shelling of southern districts of the capital by government forces, which left a total of 40 dead – 22 in Kafr Sousseh and 18 in Nahar Aisha.

Al-Odallah, who was originally from the southern city of Deraa, used a pseudonym for his independent reporting that was critical of the government crackdown.